Thousands still without power in Ohio after high winds. How many are in Columbus?

Thousands of residents across Ohio remained without power on Sunday following severe storms and damaging winds the previous day, although few continued to face issues in Columbus.

Fewer than 160 AEP Ohio customers are still without power in the Columbus area as of Sunday morning, a small portion of the nearly 17,000 outages across the state.

AEP provided an update on social media regarding the restoration efforts, saying crews worked tirelessly through the night to restore power to almost 60,000 customers. AEP's field personnel from various states, including Texas, are still working to restore power to remaining customers, especially in badly hit areas like northeast Ohio, Portsmouth and Upper Sandusky.

The company said the majority of affected customers should have their power back by the end of the day.

AEP is expected to provide restoration times by mid-Sunday afternoon.

High winds wreak havoc for second weekend in a row

Back-to-back storms in the last two weekends have left residents without power.

Last weekend, around 125,000 AEP customers were estimated to have lost power as a result of strong winds, with gusts reaching over 60 mph in some areas. The high winds caused damage to about 230 poles and around 2,000 spans of wire.

Some customers, including those in Athens and Steubenville, experienced prolonged power outages and did not have their power restored until late Wednesday night. To assist with the restoration efforts, AEP received help from utilities and contractors in seven states.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning on Saturday morning for large parts of Ohio, including Franklin County, as well as Indiana and Kentucky. The warning, which was higher on the alert scale than the wind advisory previously issued, remained in effect until 6 p.m.

Winds this weekend exceeded 60 mph in some areas across the state, with a maximum of 50 mph in Columbus, the National Weather Service reported.

National Weather Service confirms two tornadoes in Ohio

The National Weather Service in Wilmington has confirmed that a tornado occurred near Troy in Miami County early Saturday morning, based on radar data and damage reported in the area. It also confirmed that a tornado hit Auglaize County near Wapakoneta, injuring seven people.

The tornadoes caused extensive destruction to buildings and infrastructure. In Auglaize county, the storm caused flipped-over trailers and damage to farmhouses and outbuildings.

The National Weather Service, which advised residents to report any further damage or sightings of tornadoes to the local authorities, is currently assessing the tornado track data and intensity. Additional information on the tornado will be made available by the agency on Monday.

tmoorman@dispatch.com

@taijuannichole

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans hit with power outages, tornadoes over the weekend